Broken Bell
by R.L.Stokes
Summary: They almost broke her, almost extinguished her light. It was time to show everyone just how strong she was. Caroline/Klaus rated M for some gory scenes.
1. Prologue

_This is a new Fanfic I came up with, I have no idea where its going yet I just couldn't get the idea out of my head, I hope you all find the prologue interesting and want more :)_

_I Own Nothing._

xXx

Caroline doesn't know how long she's been walking for, the trees seem endless and the dirt beneath her feet doesn't change. it could be hours or days since she escaped the compound and she's been heading in the same direction since. she knows the way but couldn't tell you how, when everything has been taken from you instinct takes over and the deep resounding safeness of the direction is the only thing that keeps her moving forward '_Go Home_.' echoes through her mind and she keeps going, the words keeping her determined.

Her legs ache from strain and lasting wounds that cover her body stab with pain with every step, it was one of their favourite things, slowing down the healing rate, she wouldn't die but teeter on the edge of death, knock at deaths door and have him whisper 'come in' but never entering the darkness. that had to be the worst thing, knowing peace was within grasp but never being able to reach out and take it, it taunted her for so long, danced in front of her and then faded away again when the effects wore off only to start again the next day.

She didn't know how long she had been walking for but she knew exactly how long she had been in the compound, 6 months, 182 days of constant pain, the bells called for morning,called for the torture to start again, called for death.

It was in view, the house on the edge of mystic falls and for the first time in a long time hope filled her, igniting her bones that made her push forward, her bloodied feet trudging through the foliage, the bells attached to her wrists and ankles jingled with every movement, the red ribbons still holding strong but she paid them no mind, safety was so close she could feel her dead heart finally start to beat again.

The door, for a moment she had no idea how to open it, thankfully her body moved without consent and turned the handle, she could hear voices from inside, they were raised, arguing about something but stilled when she opened the door.

Finally she came into view of everyone.

"I'm home."

xXx

_So what do you think? Obviously there's not much to go on yet but there is more coming soon I promise! X_

_Reviews and ideas are always welcome! xx_


	2. Welcome Home

_Strangely this story was inspired by Elastic Heart by Sia (Which I do not own) if anyone can watch that and tell me how this came from it please tell me because even I'm confused how I got this lol._

_I don't own anything_

_Enjoy!_

Chapter 1- Welcome home.

6 months, she had been missing for 6 months now. No witches could locate her and no amount of threats to people's lives and families in making a difference, Caroline was gone.

Klaus didn't know what else to do, they had exhausted all their options, run through so many failed plans, they didn't even know if she was alive or not. He felt so lost as the people around him argued, he and his siblings had been called back to Mystic Falls about 4 months ago.

He should have come sooner but he had gotten so caught up in the politics and schemes in New Orleans he had no idea she had gone missing and it would be a long time if ever till he forgives himself for that.

Thankfully no one has mentioned his presence, they seemed to all be aware of his feelings for Caroline and must feel that if anyone would be able to find her it would be him which made their lack of progress all the more distressing.

Convincing Elijah to help had been easy, something about her being his light or whatever nonsense he had come up with this time, though there is only so much his brother can do from New Orleans where he had to stay to make sure things don't get out of hand there. Rebekah had been more difficult but thankfully she came round in the end (it went easier when the Ripper and Quarterback were mentioned).

He was becoming desperate, there was still no trace of Caroline anywhere and her so called friends were utterly useless, it took them 3 weeks to even notice she had disappeared which he will make them pay dearly for if the worst should happen.

Klaus looked around the room at the people who he only had disdain for, the doppelgänger wept pathetically while blaming herself which was really helping no one. The Ripper has his face in his hands, he seems to have taken Caroline's disappearance the hardest, apparently they were really close.

The witch was scouring through Grimoires searching for anything that could help, so far no luck and he could see her hope fading, the hope of finding the perfect spell to get her best friend back was diminishing with every book she tossed aside, surprisingly Rebekah was helping the witch, she still had some knowledge of witchcraft, though she couldn't use it, that she learnt from their mother and some witches over the years.

The quarterback and his Hybrid were here, god knows why, they were horrendously useless, the human was simply there for 'moral support' or whatever and the mutt did nothing but stomp around accusing everyone, he has been kicked out of this house many times in the last 4 months but continues to get on Klaus's last nerve.

And last but definitely least was the other Salvatore brother, Damon was as cocky and arrogant as ever and was very close to losing his heart.

"Why don't we just face the facts, either blondie is dead or she ran off and doesn't want anyone to find her." Damon drawled.

Yupp, definitely going to lose his heart.

Klaus fixed the other man with a glare, "Say that again and you will become well acquainted with the bottom of the ocean." he hissed, of course the idea has crossed his mind but he refused to entertain it, Caroline had to be alive and he wouldn't rest until he found her.

Of course the doppelgänger had to speak up at this, "Don't speak to him like that! At least we're trying to find her!" she shrieked much to everyone's annoyance.

Klaus felt his eyebrow twitch in anger at this, "You mean it wasn't me that supplied countless numbers of witches and manpower to try and find her, it wasn't me that has done nearly everything to search while you sob pathetically hiding behind your boyfriend? Oh I'm sorry which brother are you with now? It's hard to keep track." he spat back, this was obviously the wrong thing to say as now the whole scooby gang was shouting in response.

Klaus was about to snap, he had really had enough of these people when a noise caught his attention, a metallic clinking sound.

'Bells?' he thought to himself as he raised a hand to silence everyone, just as he did this the front door was slowly pushed open.

It was her.

The girl they had been searching high and low for standing right in front of them and he hates to admit this but he couldn't move, he was completely frozen in place.

Caroline stood before them, her eyes unseeing, her usually bright blonde hair dull and matted with dirt and what looks like blood, no it was definitely blood.

She's covered in it, it was dried and flaky against her skin and lasting wounds oozed with it, it was difficult to find a part of her that was clean, Klaus dreaded to think what was beneath the simple grey smock she wore.

It was torn in several places where bloodied flesh was revealed, glass and debris was embedded in her torso and legs in several places, the smock was filthy and looked as if it had been worn for several months which it probably had been.

But what was most unusual was the bells, on each of her ankles and wrists fastened by a simple red ribbon were two silver bells, they clinked with every twitch of her body and was the only sound in the room full of stunned people.

Finally she opened her mouth and broke the silence.

"I'm Home." she uttered brokenly before her eyes fluttered shut and began to fall forward.

Finally Klaus was snapped out of his stupor and he flashed forward to catch her before she hit the ground, taking care to avoid her lasting wounds which didn't seem to be healing, they still dripped with blood staining the wooden floor beneath them.

"Caroline" he breathed out brushing her hair away from her face to reveal more cuts and grazes, she wasn't responding but her constant breathing provided some relief.

Of course this would be when the doppelgänger decided to stick her nose in.

"Get away from her!" she shrieked through her tears and Klaus couldn't help but give her an incredulous look and was pleased to note he wasn't the only one giving her one.

He quickly lifted the injured girl and brought her over to the sofa so he could gently lay her down, taking a quick inventory of her wounds and chewing his lip in worry when he confirmed they showed no sign of healing.

"What the hell happened to her?" surprisingly it was Rebekah that asked this, Klaus shook his head in answer, he had no idea but vowed silently he would not stop until whoever did this paid dearly.

Klaus quickly bit into his wrist and held it up to her mouth while using the other hand to massage her throat into swallowing, he sighed in relief when she began to drink but panic quickly arose again when it seemed to make no difference, nothing was healing, the glass that should have been pushed out when the blood took effect stayed stuck in.

"I have no idea why but she's not healing, we need to dress these wounds." he ordered and growled when no one made a move to get any bandages, this shook them out of their shock and Stefan flashed off to grab a first aid kit.

Klaus stood by Caroline's head as Stefan began cleaning her legs making sure to not move the dress any more than he needed to, Rebekah quickly took over.

"Everyone look away I'm lifting up her dress." she snapped and blocked her from view anyway.

Klaus looked away in respect and took note of everyone's reactions, the doppelgänger seemed to be wallowing in self pity and clinging onto Damon's arm, the man in question was staring at a spot on the wall with a hard expression.

Looking around Klaus saw Stefan was squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists, one of which was pressed against his lips, he could tell it was heartbreaking to see Caroline in this state, the only reason Klaus was currently so calm was because he had perfected the art of hiding how you truly feel otherwise he would be an absolute wreck.

Bonnie was currently housed in Matt's arms, she was staring at Rebekah's back as the other girl worked on her friend, no one questioned why Rebekah was doing this, being vampires they didn't have a lot of experience dressing wounds as they healed before it was needed and was just glad they had someone who seemed to know what they were doing.

Even Tyler turned away in respect but looked furious at the fact Rebekah was the one helping Caroline, Klaus vowed to kick the mutt out as soon as humanly possible.

"I'm done, thankfully there wasn't too much damage that I could tell but I have no idea if anything internal is damaged, we need to find out why she isn't healing." Rebekah spoke quickly and moved on to cleaning and dressing the rest of the injuries, she was pulling endless amounts of glass out of the girl and placing them on a dirty bit of cloth.

Klaus took his spot back by Caroline's head and stroked her hair back, her eyes moved behind her eyelids but made no move to open.

xXx

Finally Caroline had been changed and cleaned the best they could do, they didn't want to move her too much in case she had internal damage, now they were just waiting for her to wake up.

"What the hell." it was Damon that broke the silence with this simple comment that everyone had to nod at, even Klaus had to agree with the other man for once.

"who did this to her?" Elena sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"I have no idea but rest assured they will pay." Klaus growled and ignored everyone as they winced when his eyes flashed yellow.

"Why isn't she healing?" Bonnie asked with a frown, if she had been bitten by werewolves then Klaus's blood would have healed her but nothing had worked and the injuries stayed.

"Maybe it's a spell of some kind." Damon responded and everyone began putting in their own theories.

The voices around her stirred Caroline from her unconsciousness, she stayed frozen. The voices...too many voices invading her ears. She had to get away, _'no more, please no more.'_

Caroline's eyes shot open to stare at the ceiling, she heard gasps around her and in an instant she was gone from the sofa and was in the corner of the room, her hands braced on the wall behind her with her torso propelled forward, hissing and grows reverberated through her to the shock of her friends, she was fast, faster than before even the originals couldn't track her with their eyes which left everyone left wondering what the hell happened to the blonde girl.

Caroline surveys the room and though she recognises the faces the deep seeded panic doesn't waver, the fear overriding her reason and making everyone a threat, she stays on the defensive, her mind going a mile a minute, she doesn't know where she is or how she got there, she just needs to protect herself and find out what the hell is going on.

"Care? It's ok, it's me Stefan." he softly says to her, his hands are held up in a surrendering motion and she tilts her head at him almost as if she doesn't understand, she recognises the name but for the moment can't place it, her mind has almost shut down in defence, the beast in her has taken over and she doesn't trust anyone.

"Caroline?" she hears another voice call out to her and her eyes snap over to him, again she knows this person but this time she recognises the face, the accent, its all so familiar...he smells safe, she doesn't let herself hope yet, safe is a luxury, one she hasn't been rewarded with, she cannot begin to hope.

'_Please...safe.'_ was the only thing that stuck out in her mind through the jumble of thoughts that pounded heavily around her head, never stopping long enough to make sense.

Slowly she takes her hands off the wall and tentatively takes a step towards the person, he stays still as if she's a frightened lamb and he's trying not to scare her off.

She takes small steps until she is at arms length and narrows her eyes curiously, she brings her head forward and smells the man, taking short quick sniffs to get as much of his scent as possible, immediately she relaxes and moves her hand forward to lay it on his chest but immediately snatches it back when he inhales sharply.

The man relaxes again and she narrows her eyes, he seems to be ok now so she tries once more and is pleased when his breathing remains regular.

Finally when she is sure he wont harm her she speaks, her voice is raw and scratchy and her next words come out at almost a whisper.

"You're safe...Am I safe now?" she asks staring into the man's eyes.

The man gazes back at her with an expression she cant decipher.

"Yes love, you're safe now."

It took a moment for the words to register in her mind and even longer for the meaning to sink in but when they finally do her face crumbles and she doesn't try to stop the anguished cry that tore from her throat.

The man immediately takes her in his arms as heart wrenching sobs wrack through her frame and wails echo through the still silence of the room. She couldn't stop, the pain from her wounds was almost unbearable but the relief that settled through her was stronger and made her forget the pain.

The only sound in the room were her cries and the small tinkle of the bells.

xXx

_Ugh I'm really not happy with this but its the best its gonna get, sorry if it sucks xx_

_Review's are always welcome xxxx_


	3. The First

_All these reviews! I'm debating printing them all out and having a review bath if I get any more! They are all such wonderful comments I can't thank you all enough!_

_If the characters seem ooc to anyone don't worry, I will explain in later chapters._

_I don't own anything…sadly _

Chapter 2

Caroline groaned as she slowly woke up, she could tell her wounds had healed but she could still feel her muscles ache with lasting strain, the drug must have worn off but the weariness and ache was a side effect, it was like you had a fever and it was a feeling she was well acquainted with.

All of a sudden her eyes shot open as the events of the previous day came flooding back to her, escaping the compound, arriving at the Mikaelson house and breaking down in Klaus's arms. Finally she had some semblance of clarity back…last night was hell, a hell she wasn't going to think about again for a long time. Looking around the room she couldn't help but cry in relief when she noticed her mum asleep in the chair next to her bed, she was in her night clothes and her hair was a mess, she must have got here late last night and stayed through the night. Caroline could already feel the tears escape as she watched her mum sleep, it was true, she really had escaped.

"Mum?" she croaked her throat dry from thirst and disuse.

Almost instantaneously Liz's eyes fluttered open, she looked around disorientated for a moment but stopped and she let out a cry when she saw Caroline sat up in bed staring back at her. Liz almost launched herself at Caroline but held back in fear of scaring her, Bonnie had explained what happened the night before when she had rang her, how Caroline wasn't herself, she refused to let them keep her away and it took a lot of convincing to let her stay in the same room as her but she had put her foot down saying that was her daughter and nothing was going to stop her from being there.

"Oh baby." she whispered and climbed onto the bed with her and proceeded to wrap her little girl in her arms, Caroline cried as she clutched her mother's shirt.

They said nothing, simply held onto each other as they cried, Liz had never been more lost than in the 6 months Caroline had been missing, she had no idea what to do or how to even start looking for her, the only reason it had taken them so long to realise Caroline was missing was because Liz had been compelled. They still had no idea who compelled her but it was actually Damon who realised something was wrong when Liz said Caroline had gone to stay with her dad for a while, obviously whoever had compelled her didn't know Bill Forbes was dead.

They immediately started searching but came up empty and after a month they made the decision to call Klaus in to help, Liz had no idea why he would help but apparently he had been rather smitten with Caroline and as they guessed he was more than happy to help and more than furious they waited this long to tell him. She may not like the man but she could tell the effect Caroline has on him and was strangely proud with her girl that she managed to get through to a monster like him.

Pulling away they sniffed and wiped away the remnants of their tears.

"What happened Caroline? Where were you?" she asked softly, not wanting to know the answer but not being able to go not knowing.

Caroline looked down as emotions flashed through her eyes, Liz felt her stiffen in her arms and held her closer in comfort.

"Would you be able to wait until we go downstairs? I am in desperate need of a shower and I would rather tell everyone all at once than re-live it several times." she whispered, her voice still croaky.

"Of course, I brought you some clothes, go take a shower and I'll be waiting downstairs." Liz gave her daughter another hug and left the room.

Caroline sighed and fell back on the bed but flinched when the bells that were still attached to her made a sound, she was going to have to find a way to get these things off.

xXx

The restraints were soaked in vervain, it burned through her skin and sizzled with every move she made, the bright light hanging above her seemed to burn through her retinas and made light spots appear every time she blinked, it was agony and the man hadn't even started yet.

He stood to her side preparing jars and women dressed in scrubs brought trays of instruments to the table next to him, he wore surgeon's scrubs and protective gloves, the medical mask they always seemed to wear was in its place. She knew exactly what he was going to do when he reached over and attached a metal device to her face that kept her eyelids stretched open, she knew and terror flooded through her, begs and pleas spilled from her lips but the man seemed unfazed as if he had done this a hundred times before and whatever she said was nothing new to him.

"Now, now there's no need for that 311, you are going to be helping a lot of people with your donation, now be a good girl and try and keep the screaming to a minimum I woke up with rather a bad headache this morning." he spoke in a mock soothing voice.

The scalpel came closer and closer to her eye till it blurred with the proximity and Caroline couldn't help the terrified turned pain filled scream that tore from her throat as he cut around her eye socket removing her eyelids from her face before using another instrument to cut through the muscles in the back of her eye successfully removing the organ and depositing it into a jar filled with liquid, she could feel the blood pour from the fresh cuts, they were never careful, as long as they had what they wanted they didn't care how they got it.

Screams echoed through the room, she barely registered the fact they were coming from her, the blood was pooling in her hair and congealing in her ear hindering her hearing.

"Now for the other one hm?" his voice sounded muffled and he grinned bringing the scalpel down again before everything went dark.

xXx

They heard the screaming coming from upstairs and didn't think twice before flashing to Caroline's room, the humans rushing behind them at a slower pace. Klaus threw open her door and quickly went to the bathroom door before throwing that one open as well breaking the lock but was quickly pulled back by Rebekah who flashed over and covered Caroline with a towel before anyone saw anything. She grabbed onto the other girl which made her scream more, Klaus was about to protest but anything he was going to say died in his throat when he saw the deep gashes surrounding Caroline's eyes and bloodied fingers being held down by his sister.

Klaus couldn't look away, blood covered the shower floor and more spilled from her self-inflicted wounds quickly being washed away by the still running water, he could tell she wasn't with them anymore, her eyes didn't see them and they weren't focusing on anything as if they were no use to her anymore. He refused to consider what had happened to her, he couldn't stand to think of Caroline in that way.

Rebekah wasn't having a hard time holding the other girl in place but the screams seemed to cut through to her very core, she knew those screams, agonising pain had been inflicted on this girl there was no question about it and she was currently re-living it.

Klaus snapped out of his stare when he was pushed out of the way by Bonnie, Elena and Liz and they shut the door in his face muffling Caroline's screams which were slowly subsided into gut-wrenching sobs that made his heart clench and a lump appeared in his throat which he tried to unsuccessfully swallow away.

Turning around he saw the other men with heartbroken expressions on their faces, Klaus motioned for them to leave the room and they all made their way back downstairs, mugs of blood discarded on the counters and the sight of Caroline embedded itself in their minds.

It was terrifying to see the girl in that position, he had no idea how to help but there was no way he was going back to New Orleans now, not with her like this, he didn't care if this made his feelings more obvious, he was going to be here until Caroline herself told him to leave and even then he wasn't sure he would actually leave.

xXx

It takes about an hour for Caroline to stop crying; she clings to Rebekah's shirt as the now cold shower beats down on them, her eyes had now healed and the shower had washed away any remnants of blood that had been left.

Rebekah doesn't know why Caroline is clinging to her instead of moving to her mum or friends arms but she wasn't going to complain, she may not have liked the girl in the past but watching her brother these last 6 months had made her re-evaluate things, she could see he was distraught, he didn't even try to hide how desperate he was to find her and that scared Rebekah more than anything, she had never seen her brother act like this before, care for someone to such an extent who wasn't in their family and she hates to admit it but she was horrifically jealous.

She hadn't planned on being this involved if they ever found her but when the girl walked in bloody and broken she felt something akin to pity stir inside her but it was the look on Klaus's face that spurred her to help the girl, he was heartbroken, the sight of Caroline and the panic he displayed when he found she wasn't healing was something she hadn't seen in many years. If this was real then she would do anything within her power to support him, it was her duty as his sister.

What she hadn't expected was for Caroline to take to her so well, she had no reason to because as far as she knew they were still enemies but that's was a conversation for another day, what was important now was to make sure Caroline was alright and get to the bottom of what the hell happened to her.

"Care? Would you like to talk about it?" Bonnie asked and Rebekah quickly shot her a glare.

"What a stupid thing to ask." She spat as she felt Caroline's hands flex on her shirt.

"It's ok." Finally Caroline spoke, her eyes shone with a clarity that hadn't been there before but she still shook violently.

"I-it was a memory…or flashback or whatever you want to call it…I'm sorry." She directed her apology to Rebekah but didn't let go of her shirt or make any signs she was going to leave her arms.

Rebekah couldn't help the sad smile that graced her lips, "Don't worry about it, I'll send you the bill for my clothes." She teased good naturedly hoping Caroline would take the joke in good spirits.

Thankfully the other blonde let out a small giggle and Rebekah could barely suppress her sigh of relief.

"Let's get you out of these wet clothes and back to bed ok?" she spoke softly while helping Caroline to her feet ignoring the squelch her wet jeans made when she stood and deposited her in into Liz's waiting arms.

"But they're waiting for me." Caroline whispered referring to everyone downstairs.

Rebekah shook her head, "Don't worry about them they can wait a bit longer, you need rest." She insisted, leaving no room for argument.

Caroline nodded and allowed her mum to help her change and get back into bed; her head had barely hit the pillow before she passed out from exhaustion.

The girls nodded to Liz who was staying with Caroline and they made their way back downstairs, Rebekah didn't bother changing her clothes, her mind was focussed on getting something alcoholic before she did anything else.

Entering the kitchen it was a bit disconcerting to find everyone staring at them.

Rebekah shook her head, "She needs rest, you can talk to her later." She said directing it mainly to Klaus before grabbing the bottle of scotch from the top of the cupboard.

The kitchen was silent.

xXx

So what did you think? I know it's short, it was actually a couple thousand words longer but of course my boyfriend had to open his mouth and say "maybe you shouldn't give a lot away yet." so I changed it...and now i'm really worried its back, inner turmoil! Theres going to be a lot more talking in the next chapter…followed by more drama :)

Reviews are always welcome! Xxx


	4. The Calm Before The Storm

_This is basically what was supposed to be in chapter 2 before I changed it, hope you like it __J_

_I had to thank the bf with lots of kisses and cuddles; his suggestion was a really good one __J__ xx_

_I Own Nothing _

Chapter 3- The Calm Before The Storm

It was a few hours before Caroline made her way downstairs. No one had left, they had talked amongst themselves about safe topics trying to avoid the subject of Caroline for as long as possible but as she walks in with her arm linked with her mother's everyone knew the safe topics were over.

Caroline looks much more aware of her surroundings now but Klaus notices how she keeps checking behind her and rubbing her now healed eyes, he can also see the faint blush on her cheeks but from what he doesn't know. Caroline takes the mug of blood Stefan offers her with a thank you and drinks greedily more than happy to accept the second helping he offers and takes a seat next to Klaus at the island while ignoring everyone's blatant staring.

There were a few beats of tense silence.

"Ok enough with the elephant in the room or however that saying goes, what the hell happened?" Damon demands breaking the silence in the room and ignoring the furious glares sent his way by pretty much everyone.

"Guys its ok." Caroline assures and takes another sip of blood savouring the sweet taste before continuing.

"It was a flashback, I apologise they happen sometimes." she whispers her eyes clouding over as she remembers what it was about.

"You have nothing to apologise for love." Klaus states and lays his hand on her arm in a comforting gesture inwardly smirking when he hears Tyler growl from behind him. Caroline doesn't seem to notice or simply doesn't care and she would be right not to, Tyler had left her months ago for Hayley and apparently hadn't been nice about it either, his relationship with the wolf girl is apparently rocky so he's guessing that's why Tyler is here.

"It's a long story." Caroline answers the unasked question in the room.

"We have time; take as long as you need." Klaus assures softly while glaring at the other people in the room as if daring them to disagree, slowly everyone finds a seat or a place to perch while waiting for Caroline to start talking.

Caroline sighs and rubs a hand over her face, ghosting over her eyes before placing it over Klaus's which was still resting on her arm, she doesn't seem to realise what she had done but Klaus does and he can't help the smile that appears when he realises she finds him comforting.

"How about we start off easy?" Liz spoke up when she saw her daughters apprehension "Why did they compel me to say you had gone to Bill's?" she asked.

Caroline smiled in appreciation "They didn't, I did...you don't remember the night but they broke in, the humans came in first and held a gun to your head, they made you invite the vampires in...They were going to kill you but I begged them to let me compel you when I realised they were there for me, I don't know why but they said yes." Caroline took another deep breath as she remembered the events of that night 6 months ago.

"I compelled you to believe I had gone to dads, they didn't know he was dead and you didn't seem to find this strange so I hoped someone would ask where I had gone and realise something was wrong when you answered, did it work?" she asked hopefully, no one had the heart to tell her it had taken three weeks.

"Yes love, it was Damon that noticed." Liz replied with a smile at her daughter's quick thinking and Damon seemed pleased when Caroline gave him a grateful smile.

"That was clever." Klaus commented and smirked when a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Where did they take you?" Bonnie asked, "We couldn't locate you no matter how many witches tried."

Caroline raised her arm and Klaus frowned as he lost contact "It's the bells." she said and jingled them as if to demonstrate, she turned them around to show the runes carved into the metal.

"Why bells? And why can't we get them off you?" Elena asked while studying the runes as if she knew what they meant.

"They make us untraceable, the bells let them know we are still wearing them plus it's rather difficult to sneak up on anyone when we jingle. They had witches at their disposal that attach them to us" she shrugged and jingled the bells again, she paused for a moment and looked down, "They also double up as some kind of torture, I saw some of the older subjects go mad from the sound, screaming about the bells and tearing at their skin to try and get them off..." Caroline trailed off, her eyes getting foggy as if getting lost in a memory.

Klaus quickly shook her arm in an attempt to bring her back to reality, he didn't want something like before to happen again, thankfully it seemed to work and Caroline sent him a thankful smile.

"Them? And what do you mean subjects?" Stefan asked, Klaus was really hoping it wasn't what he thought, he knew about some organisations that experimented on vampires and some of the things he heard were enough to make even him shudder in disgust at what lengths they go to.

Caroline chewed her lower lip and grabbed Klaus's hand again to squeeze.

"They called it The Compound...I was subject 311…they specialise in vampire experimentation" it seemed his worst fears were becoming reality as the meaning to her words sunk in.

Everyone was silent and Damon looked strangely sympathetic as visions of what could have possibly happened to their friend tore through their minds.

"Did you know our limbs grow back?" Caroline asked brokenly, unseeing as she became trapped in another memory.

Liz couldn't help the silent tears that leaked over as she stared at her daughter, images of what could have happened flashed through her mind.

"Caroline you don't have to-" Stefan started.

This makes Caroline bring her hand back down quickly, she snaps out of her memory.

"No." she cut him off firmly "I have to get some of this out now, I won't be telling you everything, I don't think any of us are ready for that but I can tell you the basics." she kept her voice strong as she fought through the fear of re-living those 6 months even through words.

No one spoke as Caroline tried to find a good place to start, "I suppose I should start at the beginning...after they took me they put me in the back of a van, the interior was soaked in vervain and they had put it in the vents...we drove for about 3 hours and arrived pretty much in the middle of nowhere, they dragged me out of the van to a small hatch in the ground which led to a deep underground bunker, there were about 50 other vampires there and we each had our own cell. We were all kept too weak or doped up on vervain to fight back or even think about escaping...every day the bells rang...182 times they rang and we knew they were coming to get us. Coming to start again." Caroline stopped and couldn't help the shakes that tore through her body.

Klaus quickly pulled her against him and she relaxed in his embrace, if anyone found their sudden closeness strange they didn't mention it, not that they would when fixed with Klaus's glare.

"I think that's enough for today, you need rest." he spoke firmly and she nodded against him thankful for the reprieve, she knew why she found Klaus to be so comforting but that was a conversation for another day.

For now it can wait.

xXx

Caroline was sat up in her borrowed bed when Stefan came to visit, everyone had gone home now that they realised she would be ok for now and her mum had gone to work, the only reason she was currently staying at the originals house was because her mum said she would be safer here with two originals around to keep an eye on her, as much as she wanted her home she knew this was the best option for now. Klaus was more than happy to let her stay, insisted even which helped Liz in her decision to ask for Caroline to stay there.

"Hey Care how you feeling?" Stefan asked softly and sat gently at the end of her bed, he placed his hand on her leg in a comforting gesture which Caroline smiled at.

"Not too bad, just trying to keep myself occupied." She replied lifting the book in her hand, she had only got a few pages in as her mind had a nasty habit of wandering and she would realise she had been staring at the same word for half an hour.

"That's good." He smiled, "I'm not going to ask you what happened but I would like to know one thing." He dove right in but kept his tone light so she knew it wasn't a question that would bring up painful memories.

Caroline felt apprehension but nodded for him to continue.

"What was all that with Klaus?" he asked bluntly, not accusingly simply curiously.

Caroline winced at the question and sighed, this was not a conversation she wanted to have but she decided she might as well get it out of the way, besides Stefan was one of the people she felt owed an explanation.

"It's complicated but I'll try to explain." She started and began chewing her lower lip nervously, "by the way if you tell him any of this I will hurt you." She smiled to show she was joking…well half joking.

"When I was in the compound I knew you guys would have trouble trying to find me, no one had ever been rescued before and no one had ever escaped so I knew it wasn't going to be an easy task. I got it into my head that you guys would contact Klaus for help and in bad times I guess I would dream of him…rescuing me, I know it's stupid but it was the thought he was coming for me that kept me sane, kept me from flipping the switch." Caroline looked down at the book in her hands and folded the corners nervously; she didn't want to see Stefan's reaction, "I think the reason I went to him when I first got here was because I remember how he smells, those times he fed me his blood stuck with me." She whispered almost embarrassed.

"Do you think it's turned into some kind of hero worship?" Stefan asked curiously, of all the things for him to say she hadn't been expecting that one but she let out a sigh of relief at his non-judgemental tone.

"No, definitely not, maybe it would have if I had been there longer but the reason I find him so comforting is because the thought of him brought me comfort in some dark times, don't get me wrong I know what Klaus is, he's not a saint but he's always been different with me…" she trailed off at the end and finally looked up to meet Stefan's eyes.

"Do you know what I was doing the night they took me?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head, confused at the sudden subject change.

"I was booking a ticket to New Orleans." She said and then snorted at his shocked expression.

"I didn't know you felt that way." He said simply.

"I honestly don't know how I feel right now, that night I was acting on impulse, after Tyler left I thought more and more about Klaus and beat myself up so much for letting him leave…we would have been epic…" her expression turned soft before it turned hard again "I didn't want him to feel like he was my second choice but if I went to him at that time I know he would have, Klaus has never been the second choice and I'm ashamed to admit I thought of him a lot more than I should have when I was with Tyler." She drops her head into her hands guiltily, it had been a constant torture near the end of their relationship and would never admit it but she was glad when Tyler ended things, it didn't mean she was happy about how he ended it though, she may have had bad thoughts but at least she didn't act on them.

"With everything that's happened I need to get over this before I even think of pursuing things with Klaus…if he will still want me by then that is." She mumbled and continued messing with the book in her hands, the thought of him moving on had tortured her during those 6 months, and it still tortures her.

Stefan finally spoke up, "I know he still wants you and will do years from now, I've seen the way he looks at you…like you're the only person in the room, hell like you're the only person on the planet." He Smiles reassuringly at her, "I've never seen him care for someone so much before, just know that whatever you do you have my full support."

Caroline's eyes get misty as her best friends words echo through her, she hadn't realised how much she needed his support until now.

"Thank you Stefan, you have no idea how much this means to me but I couldn't possibly do anything right now, Klaus needs someone who is more accustomed to the idea of forever, right now I don't even know what tomorrow will bring or what state of mind I'll be in." her flashbacks and how she reacted when she first returned home weighed heavily on her mind, "I couldn't do that to him, start something but find out later on I don't want it, it wouldn't be fair to him. I need to be sure of my feelings before I pursue anything…is that selfish of me?" Caroline asked, if she was honest she had absolutely no idea what she was doing anymore.

"Actually I think that's rather selfless of you and also very smart, Klaus isn't the type of guy who lets go easily and I get the idea that if he ever got you he would never let you go, it's good to take some time to prepare yourself for what you're getting into." Stefan gazed at his Caroline with love; platonic of course, his best friend was constantly astounding him.

"And for what it's worth I think you two are very well matched, if you ever got together it would be what you would call…epic." He grinned and chuckled when she snorted at his corny description he didn't think he would ever be able to put into words how relieved he was that whatever had happened to the girl hadn't completely destroyed her, his Caroline was still there, it would of course take some time for her to get past this but he knew that if anyone could it would be her.

"That was terribly corny but thank you." She smiled and ducked her head to hide her glassy eyes.

Stefan suddenly stood up, "Right I best be off now, call anytime if you need me and I'll be back tonight." He said and moved to give Caroline a hug which she eagerly returned.

Just outside the door, with a cup of blood forgotten in hand stood Klaus.

xXx

_So what do you think? I know there was a lot of talking in this one but there will be a lot more drama in the next chapter ;)_

_Reviews and ideas are always welcome! My stories actually get changed a lot from what people write in reviews because I realise they are usually a lot better ideas lol xx_


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